Gavin Lambert's life-long friendship with Wood began when she wanted to star in the movie adaptation of his novel Inside Daisy Clover. Now he tells her story, from her Russian parentage and the urgings of her driven 'stage mother', through her awkward adolescence, to her flowering as a glamorous movie star. He documents her marriages, divorces and love affairs; her suicide attempt at 26; the birth of her children, her friendships, her struggles as an actress and her tragic death by drowning.